Organising the school play

Our school takes a lot of pride in the production values of the school play each year. We have some spectacular acting and singing talent and we love to share it with the school community. I'm in charge of the audio-visual equipment and I like to make sure that we have the best possible equipment within our budget. It's a lot of fun and everyone loves seeing what a great event we can put on. This blog is for other drama teachers and people who organise school plays, with tips on choosing the best equipment and optimising the sound projection.

Turn Up the Sound: Tips for Making Your Speakers Sound Louder

Posted on:
23 May 2016

If you are throwing a party but you are worried that your speakers are not loud enough, you may be wondering if you need to donate your existing speakers and buy new ones. To turn up the volume, you could trade-in your existing speakers, or you could take steps to amplify their sound. Take a look at these tips:

1. Take the speakers off the bookshelf

While setting up for your party, consider moving your speakers. In particular, if your speakers are on a bookshelf or in a media cabinet, their sound may be getting trapped. Books and wood are very absorbent materials for sound waves. Ideally, you want to move your speakers to a part of the room where they can sit in the open.

2. Visualise the sound waves

When selecting a spot to place your speakers for the party, visualise their sound waves, and put the speakers in a place where the waves are not likely to hit other objects. Speakers release compression waves, and to accommodate them, you may need to move your furniture and other items to clear a clear path for the audio waves.

For example, if you have a speaker right next to a chair, its sound waves will hit the chair and be absorbed by the upholstery. Alternatively, if your speaker is too close to the ground, the bottom of the wave may be absorbed by your carpet. To combat these risks, turn your speakers away from furniture and walls, and put them on a stand to get them off the floor. You may want to invest in a speaker pedestal so that the sound can travel freely around your party.

3. Stagger your speakers

If all of the music is coming from one spot, it can make it seem too quiet. In contrast, if you are surrounded by sounds coming toward you, the music can feel a lot louder. To create this effect, stagger the location of your speakers before your party.

Do not set your left and right speakers next to each other. Instead set them on opposite sides of the room, and orient them so that the trajectories of their sound waves overlap in the middle of the room. Then, position your subwoofer so that it creates a triangle with your left and right speakers. If your speakers have detachable cords, consider investing in new, longer cords before your party so that you have an easier time staggering your speakers.

4. Buy an amplifier

If freeing your speakers from the absorbent confines of your bookshelf and moving them around doesn't yield the thunderous results you crave, consider investing in an amplifier. Amplifiers can be connected directly to your existing speakers, and they simply work to make the sound louder. You can use the amplifier during your party and then disconnect it during other times when you don't need the music to be so loud.

5. Test the source of your music before the party and finetune it

In addition to dealing directly with your speakers, spend some time finetuning the source of your sound before the party. The settings of your music player can directly affect the loudness of the music you are listening to.

For example, if you are using a streaming service, keep in mind that the quality can vary depending on the level of service you use, whether you are using a PC or a smartphone, and several other factors. The better quality your streaming is, the more accurate your sound is, and the better your music sounds when you turn it up.

Also, look at the sound setting of the device you are using. For example, computers with Windows have a loudness equalization setting that can help to boost sound. In other cases, you may need to turn the volume up on both the app you are using and on the system in general.

Want more tips on making your speakers louder? Then, contact a speaker expert from a company like Tivoli Hi-Fi Pty Ltd to talk about ideas today.